Life Sciences Supply Chains: Accelerating Transformation for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Life sciences supply chains are known for their complexity. The products can be sophisticated and often require specialized handling and storage. The industry is also highly regulated, which means companies must demonstrate compliance at various stages of the supply chain. As well, getting the finished products to customers on time typically involves navigating a complex global network of suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.
These high levels of complexity – combined with the various weaknesses in global supply chains that were exposed during the pandemic – have prompted many leading life sciences companies to accelerate their supply chain planning transformations.
Bio-Rad: A Leader in Life Sciences
Kinaxis customer Bio-Rad is one such company. An industry leader with $2.8 billion in sales, Bio-Rad has a diversified customer base in the life sciences research and clinical diagnostics markets. Its sales are evenly distributed across North America, Europe, and Asia and cover both equipment and reagents for clinical diagnostics, genomics, proteomics, and cell biology.
Working in collaboration with Kinaxis and IBM, Bio-Rad is well down the road on its supply chain transformation journey, making great strides towards its overarching goal of delivering improved service and responsiveness to its customers.
A “Single Source of Truth” for Planning
As we discuss in detail in the webinar, there were a variety of factors driving Bio-Rad to undertake its total supply chain transformation. Service levels were not where they should be, decision making was slow, inventory needed improvement, and the company needed to break down its highly complex and siloed planning environment, which relied on Excel and error-prone manual processes. Most importantly, the company was not able to generate a reasonably accurate revenue forecast without significant manual activity.
As Andres notes, “when we think about demand planning, we were looking for a system that would help us build a revenue forecast.” The company decided that it needed support for its S&OP process, something that would be a “single source of truth and velocity in decision making.” After a thorough evaluation, Bio-Rad chose to partner with Kinaxis for this journey.
A Phased Implementation Yielded Positive Results
A key aspect of Bio-Rad’s transformation was adopting a phased approach to its deployment of RapidResponse.
Bio-Rad started with demand planning and deployed the forecasting capabilities of Kinaxis RapidResponse. This was implemented globally and gave the company the ability to easily generate a revenue forecast as well as its annual operating plan (AOP). In addition, Bio-Rad focused on master data and analytics to manage master data quality right from the beginning of the transformation.
The next step was to deploy supply planning on top of this foundation across the company’s manufacturing and distribution network. Bio-Rad had both SAP and non-SAP ERP instances, which gave its planners – for the first time – end-to-end visibility and the capability for “closed loop” concurrent planning across the entire supply chain.
As a result, planners have a better understanding of availability dates for customer deliveries and can identify revenue that is constrained by supply as well as mitigation opportunities.
Change management has also been extremely important throughout this journey, and helping planners understand “what’s in it for them” has been key for their motivation. Bio-Rad has found that after training and gaining some experience, users love planning in RapidResponse. Their days spent living in “spreadsheet hell” are over as they can now collaborate globally using a single source of the truth.
All these improvements have already helped Bio-Rad achieve more accurate demand forecasts, reduce its planning cycles and ultimately, deliver a higher level of service to customers. While acknowledging that there’s still more work to do, Andres sums up the result of Bio-Rad’s successful transformation initiative with Kinaxis and IBM.
“We have a built a platform for planning collaboration. We’re looking at a single source of truth, and that’s reality,” he says. “We are leveraging demand planning models and forecasting on that and it has enabled us to create a supply plan for the entire network.”
Watch the On-Demand Webinar
Watch the on-demand webinar to hear the panel’s in-depth discussion, including the four key takeaways for companies embarking on their own supply chain transformation journey:
- Improved service levels
- Streamlined decision making
- Enhanced inventory management
- Collaborative planning for sustainable development goals (SDGs)
For more on this topic, check out:
- Life sciences: Set your supply chain on the course to excellent health
- Digital transformation: Accelerate innovation and profitability
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
The issues highlighted in the article are related to improving supply chain planning and management in the life sciences industry. This is connected to SDG 3 as it aims to ensure good health and well-being, which requires efficient and effective supply chains for medical equipment and diagnostics. SDG 9 is also relevant as it focuses on building resilient infrastructure and promoting sustainable industrialization. SDG 12 is connected because responsible consumption and production practices are necessary for sustainable supply chains. Finally, SDG 17 emphasizes the importance of partnerships and collaborations to achieve the goals, which is reflected in the collaboration between Bio-Rad, Kinaxis, and IBM.
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services, and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines.
- Target 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
- Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
- Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources.
The article highlights the need for improved supply chain planning to ensure the availability of essential healthcare services, medicines, and diagnostics (Target 3.8). It also emphasizes the importance of innovation and transformation in the life sciences industry (Target 9.2). Additionally, the focus on breaking down complex and siloed planning environments and adopting more efficient processes aligns with the target of sustainable resource management (Target 12.2). Finally, the collaboration between Bio-Rad, Kinaxis, and IBM demonstrates the importance of partnerships in achieving sustainable development goals (Target 17.16).
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
- Indicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services
- Indicator 9.2.1: Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita
- Indicator 12.2.1: Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
- Indicator 17.16.1: Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks
The article does not explicitly mention these indicators, but they can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. Indicator 3.8.1 measures the coverage of essential health services, which can be improved through efficient supply chain planning. Indicator 9.2.1 assesses the contribution of manufacturing value added to GDP and per capita income, reflecting the progress in industrialization and innovation. Indicator 12.2.1 measures the material footprint and its relation to GDP, indicating progress in sustainable resource management. Indicator 17.16.1 tracks the number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder partnerships, reflecting the effectiveness of collaborations in achieving sustainable development goals.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Table
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being | Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services, and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines. | Indicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services |
| SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure | Target 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. | Indicator 9.2.1: Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita |
| SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. | Indicator 12.2.1: Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP |
| SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals | Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources. | Indicator 17.16.1: Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks |
Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.
Source: kinaxis.com
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